Frank defeats Hackworth in Anderson mayor’s race

Republican Terry Frank retained her seat as Anderson County mayor on Thursday night, handily beating Democratic challenger Jim Hackworth. She won the majority with 52 percent of the vote.

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By Sara Wise/The Oak Ridger

Oakridger - Oak Ridge, TN

By Sara Wise/The Oak Ridger

Posted Aug. 7, 2014 at 11:36 PM

By Sara Wise/The Oak Ridger

Posted Aug. 7, 2014 at 11:36 PM

Republican Terry Frank retained her seat as Anderson County mayor on Thursday night, handily beating Democratic challenger Jim Hackworth. She won the majority with 52 percent of the vote.

“I look forward to working hard for the next four years,” she said.

Frank, a Republican, was the incumbent, running against Democrat Jim Hackworth and Independent Bradley Rickett. She is a Clinton resident.

Hackworth and Rickett, both of Clinton, came away with 43 percent and four percent of the votes, respectively.

While campaigning, Frank vowed to lower crime and continue bringing jobs to the county. During a debate in July, she said that the best way to improve the county is to keep “taxes stabilized.”

During the final two weeks of the campaign, Frank and Hackworth argued over a 24-year-old county property tax rate increase and whether Hackworth, then a commissioner, had voted to lower the property tax rate or instead voted for a lower property tax rate increase than had been adopted earlier that night.

Although Rickett, a political newcomer, seemed to avoid the best of the bickering, he was unable to pull through in the race. He said previously that, if elected, he wanted to bring in more industrial jobs that pay higher wages to the county so that local families can better pay their bills. He said that he wanted to aggressively “go after” companies looking for new homes.

“I’m not upset,” Rickett said Thursday night at the Anderson County Courthouse. “This is not the end of my political career, it’s still just the beginning.”

After the win, Frank said she would “just continue to focus on what we’ve been focusing on, which is jobs and making Anderson County a better place to live, work and do business.”